The Octopus, the superyacht owned by the late Paul Allen, is on the market.

As we pointed out, though, you need some pretty deep pockets, not only to buy this beauty, but also to keep her running.

There’s a reason that superyachts are generally the property of people who can afford to pay other people to take care of them.

In particular, people like Spanish businessman Joaquín Folch-Rusiñol Corachán, the proud owner of superyacht Buka – a 36,8 metre vessel that spends most of its time sailing the sunnier waters of southern Europe.

Here’s CNN:

In a rare interview, Folch-Rusiñol Corachán gave CNN Travel the rundown of what it’s actually like to own one of these lavish leviathans, why he’s willing to spend his millions keeping it afloat, what he uses it for — and whether his friends are jealous.

“We feel like it’s our second house,” Folch-Rusiñol Corachán, told CNN Travel via phone from his yacht, parked somewhere in the Mediterranean.

Buka was built in 2006 by Dutch luxury ship manufacturer Heesen. She has a top speed of 31 knots, four generous cabins, and is valued at an estimated $10 million.

At the 2019 Monaco Yacht Show, where Folch-Rusiñol Corachán will be rubbing shoulders with fellow superyacht owners later this month, Buka will be dwarfed by oceangoing titans such as the six-deck, 106-meter Amadea, which comes complete with a helipad on the prow.

For the Spaniard, owning a custom-built superyacht was all about continuing a passion passed down by his late father, who bequeathed him a wooden motor yacht — also called Buka — that he’d bought in the 1970s.

Since then, Buka has taken on a number of forms. The latest and most up-to-date Buka was designed with one thing in mind – speed.

“Speed was, for us, a main priority,” says Folch-Rusiñol Corachán. “But also, we wanted a boat [that] can cruise at low speed.”

Buka was created with a semi-displacement hull, which allows the boat to rise up in the water, decreasing drag and increasing potential speed to more than 30 knots, faster than the standard cruising pace of about 20 knots.

“But for example, today, we left the marina and we were doing 12-13 knots at very low rest,” he adds. “So it’s quite versatile.”

While Folch-Rusiñol Corachán worked with engineers on the design of the yacht, his wife collaborated on designing the interior. The yacht is designed to accommodate the couple’s family and they aren’t really about that party lifestyle.

“We are very sports oriented, the whole family,” says Folch-Rusiñol Corachán.

“So when we go the Balaerics, which is well known for the parties, we don’t live that kind of lifestyle. On the contrary, we go to bed early, wake up very early, gym, swimming, bicycling, running.”

#FitFam.

They’re really not into being snapped by the paparazzi, either:

Buka doesn’t have the crazy-cool features that some of the giant superyachts have, insists Folch-Rusiñol Corachán. No helicopter pads or submerged underwater lounges…

“If you are in Ibiza, with all the paparazzi going around and all these famous Russian millionaires and so on, you might have this approach, but we try to keep a very low profile,” he says.

During the winter months, Buka is based in the Royal Yacht Club of Barcelona, where the family occasionally take her out, weather depending.

“When we have some winter, sunny, nice days, we go out with the boat towards Tarragona or towards the south,” he says.

Folch-Rusiñol Corachán (below) is still friends with regular folk, too:

And are his non-yacht-owing buddies ever jealous of his amazing vessel and enviable lifestyle?

“There is a saying in Spanish, which I am going to translate: “‘The best of this world is to have a friend with a boat,'” he laughs. “Because you avoid all the hazard of owning a boat, because — if you truly maintain it immaculate — it gives you a lot of work.

“I’ve never thought, while inviting someone on board, that he would be jealous.”

I can’t imagine that he has a lot of friends who are low on cash, so that probably isn’t a problem.

Living on a superyacht sure does sound like the good life.

[source:cnn]